


Half-hearted Contestant

by LadyDrace



Series: Not!Fic [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Actor Derek Hale, Getting Together, M/M, Not!Fic, POV Stiles, Talk Shows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 13:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10991718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDrace/pseuds/LadyDrace
Summary: Stiles signs up for a tv show where you can win a date with actor Derek Hale. Stiles does it mostly for the food, really.





	Half-hearted Contestant

**Author's Note:**

> This is Not!Fic, absolutely pulled right outta my ass and definitely not betaed. But I still wanna keep all my writing in one place, so here it is.
> 
> [Originally posted here.](http://ladydrace.tumblr.com/post/149641923206/i-found-this-romance-manga-where-this-woman-signs)
> 
> The manga mentioned in the ask was later confirmed as being [this one](http://www.ebookrenta.com/renta/sc/frm/item/79275/).

i found this romance manga where this woman signs up to be a contestant on a talk show to win a date w/ some celebrity, except she gives deliberately terrible/sarcastic answers bc she just wants to check out the set and win the consolation prize, but the celebrity dude picks her over the other two contestants anyway and this is kinda long oops but anyway: you cannot tell me that's not totally sterek, amirite?

Anonymous

 

 

THAT IS MOST DEFINITELY STEREK! So perfect, omg. 

I have ZERO idea how these things work, so bear with me, here.

Stiles probably signs up mostly for kicks, and he’s the most surprised of all of them when he’s accepted as a contestant. But he figures he’ll go along with it, mostly so he can get to have the promised five minutes in a room with actor and activist Derek  _“current Hollywood hottie #1″_ Hale that all the contestants get, and then get to see behind the scenes, because reality shows are Stiles’ obsession of the week. Also, there’s a free buffet, and he’s kinda in between jobs at the moment, so at least he’ll be fed. 

He is very much NOT taking it seriously. There’s no point, because first of all, he’ll never win. He’s obviously there as the comic relief, because he’s seen enough of these kinds of shows to know that only hot people win. That’s just how it is. And okay, he can maybe scrape himself up to a decent 7 on a 1-10 scale if he goes all out, but he’s not Hollywood hot. 

But it’s cool, even if he loses he gets a week in a hotel with all expenses paid while they film the show, and also a shit ton of merch with Derek Hale’s autograph on it. He can totally sell all of that on ebay and survive another few months without a job. 

So he shows up, only having done the bare minimum of grooming, not giving a shit that he’s about to be on TV (who cares, he’s there to be the element of surprise anyway) and answers every single practice question in the most immediate and sarcastic way possible. The best thing is, he doesn’t even have to try. Usually he has to try very hard to _not_ just let the first words that come to mind tumble out of his mouth, but here it’s actually a good thing!

He gets to shake hands with Derek before the show like all the other contestants, and Derek looks like his brain is slowly melting while Stiles talks a mile a minute about the science behind cow genetics and how to store bull sperm. 

Good start. 

It’s not live, thank god, but it is in front of a live audience, and they even get to weigh in on which answer Derek should pick as the best one sometimes. Stiles is really gratified that his name shows up so much, but no one knows what Derek picks until later. He seems to choke down laughter quite a lot more with Stiles, but that’s the whole point here. He’s supposed to be the shocker, and from the way both Derek and the host lose their shit every so often, Stiles thinks he’s got it down. 

When it’s time for the reveal of who gets the date, Stiles isn’t even really paying attention. It’s bound to be the sweet girl on the end. She’s gorgeous, long, dark hair, perfectly positioned beauty mark, big brown eyes and legs for miles, and she gave really clever answers. She’s smart and hot, a natural winner.

The host says Stiles’ name and he’s honeslty confused. It’s gotta be a mistake? Maybe the network decided to rock the boat and paid Derek more money to pick the unexpected choice. Okay, then. Stiles can roll with this too. It’s just a date with a hottie who he’ll never see again once the cameras are off. And there’s a meal involved, so it’s another day he won’t live on ramen. 

So there’s a whole thing scheduled. They’re picked up in a limo, taken to a really fancy restaurant that makes Stiles kinda wish he’d bothered to wear a tie with his button down, and afterwards there’s a romantic walk along the river, that’ll take them to a designated spot where all the cameras are set up to capture Derek’s decision on whether he’ll want to see Stiles again. Two camera guys follow them all through the date, but they’re surprisingly unobtrusive, mostly just hovering a few steps behind Derek and Stiles, not directing them at all. 

It’s kind of a nightmare, because Derek is _nice_. Like really nice. Kind and smart and dedicated to his job and his family, and he seems to genuinely think that Stiles is funny. He gives money and publicity to charities by the buckets and speaks out for minorities and animals. By the end, despite his best efforts, Stiles can’t help but think Derek would be a really wonderful guy to be involved with, even with his crazy work schedule and brutal gym routines. 

But this is a gig like everything else, Derek is being paid to do it, so it’s just what he does. It’s acting, even though it’s definitely close to what Derek really is. Yeah, Stiles read up on him online before going on the date. Just to have some talking points, really! But still, Derek is just acting. It’s what he DOES. 

So they eat and talk and laugh, there’s dessert and coffee and Stiles is feeling pretty good about things and kinda wishes he could just go home and smile into his pillow when they’re done, like he would if a date this nice ever happened to him in real life, but, alas, they have a walk and a final reveal. 

Stiles isn’t an idiot. He can tell Derek has played it towards the “I’d like to see you again” declaration, so he’s ready when it comes, accepting it with only a minimum of awkwardsness (it’s bound to be awkward, because dammit, Stiles really likes this guy, even if he’s just acting) and then the cameras turn off, and Stiles is just ready to go home and lick his wounds now. 

But Derek isn’t getting into a car and zooming off to whatever swanky mansion he lives in. He’s still standing there, looking at Stiles with weirdly hopeful eyes, asking for contact info so they can set up a more genuine first date, and Stiles is… his whole world is kinda turning itself inside out right now. He looks around to see if there’s a camera somewhere, but the tech guys are all packing up, not even looking at them, too busy getting everything cleared away so they can leave. 

“You’re serious,” he says, and Derek makes an adorably frowny face at him.

“Yes? You didn’t think I was serious five minutes ago?”

“NO! It’s called acting! You’re an actor! You’re _working_! I’m not an idiot!” Stiles might be freaking out a little. Or a lot right now. 

Derek actually looks a little hurt, fuck, that’s not what Stiles wanted. “Did you even read the contract before you signed it?”

“Yes!”

“All of it?”

“Well, okay, I skimmed over the five or so pages about you to help us give answers you’d like, because I wasn’t gonna use those anyway.”

Derek rolls his eyes, and even that is kinda cute, fuck Stiles’ life. “If you’d read those pages you’d see that I’m not getting paid for this. The only thing I get is publicity. This whole thing is for charity.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. All proceeds and donations go to cancer research.”

“Oh. Guess that explains all the cancer questions on the panel, then.”

“Yeah.”

Well. This is awkward. Even Derek is shuffling around, putting his hands in his pockets and looking unsure. “So. Does this mean your actual answer would have been ‘ _no thank you, I never wanna see you again_ ’?”

“No! God, no, are you kidding me?!” Stiles blurts, and Derek’s incredibly adorable bunny teeth poke out again as he smiles. 

“Okay. Good. So… can I have your number, then?”

Derek gets Stiles number. And his address. And Stiles doesn’t even care one bit about social norms, he puts out spectacularly after their first real date (trip to the movies followed by pizza slices at a nearby mall, seriously, the low brow of it only makes Stiles even more enamoured) and a few months later when the show airs they watch it togther from Stiles’ creaky, second-hand bed. 

Turns out there WAS a camera on them for the aftermath, and Stiles will have to applaud the crew for hiding it so well, but for now, he’s got a pillow fight to win because Derek is laughing at him, and that’s not cool. 

End.


End file.
